Mad Men – Season
Five
(2012/Lionsgate Blu-ray)
Picture: A- Sound: A- Extras: C Episodes: A-
Though lackluster at first, Mad
Men has evolved into a brilliant series.
Some critics say it was brilliant from the beginning, I would argue it
had the makings of a great series with its creative premise, solid cast, and
intense/twisting plot points. In the
beginning the series dragged and as I may have stated once or twice, it was a
nice watch to blow some time. For that
reasoning I missed Season Five when
it originally aired on television, but now seeing it here on Blu-ray I can say
without a doubt I made a big mistake as Season
Five is one of the best yet. The
characters truly take charge this season and what is delivered is astonishingly
addictive.
After a long sabbatical Mad Men
returns with a bang as we pick up where Season Four left off. The
world is changing quickly and the men of Sterling, Cooper, Draper, Pryce are
trying to keep up. It seems for every
problem solved 10 more arise. Not only
are we treated to the mystery and magic of the 1960’s advertising agency, but
we are clearly shown that most of it is smoke and mirrors. Outside of the daily office grind, we explore
the inner workings of many of its employees; something that has been done for 4
seasons, but never as well as Season 5.
Season 5 is nearly
cinematic as it discretely portrays the trials and tribulations of 1966 through
the eyes of the advertising agency employees.
This season we have a new Don Draper (Jon Hamm) as he displays a shiny
outlook on life as he introduces his new wife Megan (Jessica Pare) to the
world. The two part opener has Don
allowing the outside world into his life when Megan throws him a surprise
birthday party…Don hates surprises. This
seemingly meaningless event sets off a chain of events that has Don on guard
more than ever as he lets happiness in and sets his work aside.
Whether he realizes it or not he controls Megan’s every more as he has
her wrapped around his finger, and he doesn’t seem to mind one bit. Turmoil surmounts this season as roles have
flipped; Roger has no work to do, Pete is the breadwinner (though no one sees
it but him) for SCDP, and Don is oddly absent as he finds happiness somewhere
else. The addition of Don’s new wife
Megan also makes for a creative element to work with; as it is clear that there
is more to her than meets the eye.
Unlike the former women Don has bedded, she is not shallow and
uninspiring, but instead quite the opposite.
She has a mind of her own as she
finds a knack for advertising and begins to remember the dreams she once had;
later leaving Don feeling rejected and confused…paving the way for the return
of the Don Draper of yesteryear.
The technical features of this season seem to be greatly upgraded over
previous. The picture is a 1080p High
Definition Widescreen presentation that has solid colors, inky/framing blacks
and no light/dark issues to speak of.
The presentation feels truly cinematic with rich texture and detail,
exemplifying the great time and effort that goes into the series to bring the
1960s to life. The sound is a 5.1 DTS-HD
lossless Master Audio that delivers from beginning to end staring with
cinematic scores and not stopping at the great directionality. The dialogue is crisp, clean, and clear; that
would leave most thinking this dialogue driven series would be boring from an
audio angle, but it is quite the opposite.
The audio track is oddly lively as something is always going on and the
soundscape is alive.
The extras are also nice, housing the following:
·
Mad Men say the Darndest Things
o
Best one-liners of the season
·
What Shall I Love if not the Enigma?
o
Mad Men Season five art poster inside look
·
The Party of the Century
o
Truman Capote’s Black and White 1966 Ball
·
Scoring Mad Men: Inside Session
·
The Uniform Time Act of 1966
o
Look into Daylight savings…oddly interesting
·
Newsweek Magazine Digital Gallery
·
Commentaries
o
A great look at the series with cast/crew
-
Michael P. Dougherty II
